The 106th Irish PGA Championship came to a conclusion today with two Cork golfers in the top 10. Monkstown’s Cian McNamara finished of his tournament in style with a two under par 70. The Limerick native got off to a great start with three birdies on the front nine and another one on he 11th. He bogied the 13th and 16th which pegged him back a little but still stayed in the red and signed for a 70. Davey Barry also rounded off a great week, finishing in a tie for 7th place alongside McNamara. Davey signed for a one over par 73 today but jumped up two places on the leaderboard. Barry was three over par through 11 holes but added two birdies on the way home to get back on track and ensure his top ten finish.
David Higgins had a 71 to stay inside the top ten and finish in 6th place just ahead of McNamara and Barry. David Ryan shot a level par 72 to move up into the top 30. Mallow’s Ciaran McKenna had another disappointing round and finished near the back of the field.
Damien McGrane joined the legendary past winners with a hugely impressive 69 to put his name alongside some of the greatest Irish golfers. Overnight leader Continue reading
Azahara Munoz leads the Costa Del Sol Open after the first 36 holes, an she has Corkman Simon Keelan on the bag with her. Keelan has spent much of the summer caddying on the Ladies European Tour. Last week the pair were in action in the Evian Championship in Paris but it was a disappointing week as Munoz finished down the field. This week she bounced back on home soil and led the field after a second round 66. Keelan was seen on Sky Sports looking 
Cian McNamara shot an impressive 73 today in very testing conditions to stay in contention at Moyvalley. High winds hampered golfers all day with the later starters suffering the most. McNamara’s solid round means that he’s in 7th place and just four shots off the lead. David Higgins also carded a 73 and he’s in 12th place. David Barry had one of the best rounds of the afternoon, his two over par 74 has him on +1 for the tournament and in a tie for 15th place.
Cian McNamara followed up his good pro-am performance yesterday with an opening 69 at the first round of the PGA Irish Championship. It was a second successive 69 for the Monkstown professional, with birdies on the 12th, 15th and 16th. He had a steady round of 15 pars to go with the three birdies. Davey Barry is two shots back on -1. He’s tied for 12th place after a round that featured four birdies and three pars. The lead is held by Simon Thornton who is three clear of the field after an opening 69. The 106th staging of the Championship is being hosted by Moyvalley Hotel and Golf Resort.
Although the 2016 Championship year hasn’t been completed yet, Munster Golf have been busy planning dates and fixtures for 2017. Liam Harkin, Karen Walsh and Margaret Sugrue have been busy liaising with clubs to put together the calendar that will see close on twenty separate competitions take place in over 60 venues across the province. The 2017 season gets underway as usual with the Munster Youths – although the tournament will now be know as the Munster Student’s Championship. The competition takes place in Cork Golf Club in mid March. Cork clubs have stepped up this year in terms of availability, with Kinsale, Lee Valley, Kanturk, Blarney and Cork all confirmed as host venues.
